Bare Bones
by realismandromance
Summary: Sequel to Painfully Abnormal, the fourth part of In Retrospect, though it stands on its own. After spending an afternoon with Dudley, Harry comes home to Grimmauld Place for a dinner with Ginny, only to find that she wants to discuss a past he'd rather keep buried. [Canon Compliant]


'So, how was it?' Ginny asked, stepping over the threshold of Number Twelve and enveloping Harry in a hug.

'How was what?' Harry said innocently, as they made their way along the narrow, high-ceilinged corridor to the kitchen.

One look from Ginny told him she didn't buy it.

'Hermione told me you went to visit your relatives this afternoon.' She dropped her handbag on the kitchen table and caught him in a kiss that tasted of honey. 'How did it go?'

'Er … you know …' Harry suddenly found himself tongue-tied. 'My aunt and uncle weren't there, so it wasn't too bad, actually …'

'What do you mean, they weren't there so it wasn't too bad?' Ginny frowned. 'I thought you'd be glad to see them, after almost a year.'

Her words sounded odd to Harry's ears, until he remembered how little she actually knew of his life before Hogwarts. Even Ron and Hermione were only aware of the bald facts, though he was sure they had pieced together other parts of the story.

He shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant as he leant over the stove and unnecessarily stirred the simmering pot that contained their dinner. 'Well, truth be told, they weren't exactly the most … loving …'

Ginny came up to stand beside him. _'What do you mean, Harry?'_

'Don't worry about it.'

There was that hard, blazing look in her eyes again, that _I-know-what-I-want-so-don't-mess-with-me_ look. She flicked her wand at the stove, extinguishing it (the bubbles in the sauce subsided), then sat down at the table and directed Harry to do the same. Leaning across it towards him, she asked, 'Did they … hurt you?'

'No!' His answer was louder than he meant it to be. 'It's the truth!' he protested. Ginny looked disbelieving, so he tried another tack. 'Listen, they tried their best to pretend that magic doesn't exist, so why would they go out of their way to hurt me?'

'So they suffocated you? Stopped you from doing magic? What if they'd really damaged you, so that you couldn't control it at all?'

Harry stared. 'That's not what I said!' Inwardly, he groaned. He didn't have the energy to deal with this drama about his childhood right now. 'Ginny, just drop it.'

'No!' Her voice came out in a rush, and she dashed over to the big fireplace, reaching for the jar that contained Harry's stock of Floo Powder.

'Where are you going?' Harry said blankly, but instead of jumping into the tall green flames, she shouted, 'The Burrow!' and stuck her head in.

'Percy!' she called, after a moment, and Harry could hear the urgency in her voice. 'Perce, get Ron and Hermione, would you?' A minute later, she pulled her head out of the fire just in time for Ron and Hermione to tumble out. Ron was scowling, as if he'd been caught in the middle of something private or illicit. Which, judging from Hermione's pink cheeks and the way Ron's arm rested around her shoulders, was likely the truth.

'This better be important, Ginny,' muttered Ron, the tips of whose ears were red.

'Oh, it is,' said Ginny coolly. She turned to Harry. 'All right, if you won't tell me, I'll just have to ask them.'

'Ask us _what_?' Ron said loudly.

'About Harry's so-called family – what did you say they were, Harry? _Not exactly loving_?'

Ron swore. Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. Ginny took both responses as confirmation.

'So it's true?' she said, in a voice of steel. Harry turned away. He did not think he could stand it if Ginny went on like this, scratching at old wounds that he'd just as soon let heal.

'Well … we already knew that,' said Ron uneasily. 'Bloody hell, Ginny, you remember when how worried Mum and Dad were when Harry didn't answer our letters that first summer back, don't you? You don't think we went to pick him up because we were starving for company, do you? If anything, Harry was the one starving.'

'Harry, _pay attention_ ,' snapped Hermione. Harry, sensing a headache coming on, had been attempting to slink into the shadows of the long kitchen. 'I don't see why you don't want us to talk about this. You know what they did was wrong, don't you?'

Harry groaned. 'Hermione, I'm not _stupid_.'

'It's not about being stupid,' said Ginny. 'It's about understanding the importance of a true family – not just the people you live with, but those who really care about you, who'll stay by your side, who'll help you when it gets tough.'

'Never knew you were a poet, Ginny,' said Ron, but his eyes were serious.

'Guess you never got a singing Valentine from her, then,' said Harry. Next thing he knew that was a mistake, because Ginny rounded on him, face as scarlet as her hair.

'You said you wouldn't tell –!'

 _'His eyes are as green as a fresh picked toad …'_

'I can't believe you even _remember_ that!'

Ron was doubled over with laughter. Hermione looked torn between incredulity and disapproval.

 _'His hair is as dark as a blackboard …'_

'Shut it!'

' _I wish he were mine, he's really diviiiiiine ...'_ Ginny raised her wand threateningly and Harry, sensing the danger, tried to wrench it out of her hand.

 _'The hero who conquered the Dark_ – ouch!'

Foregoing magic, Ginny had instead poked him in the stomach with her wand. Harry massaged the sore spot ruefully – maybe it was his recent meeting with his cousin that prompted him, he didn't know, but he said lightly, 'You've got better aim than Dudley.'

Ginny pocketed her wand. 'But your cousin's not … oh.' Silence reigned.

'Bet Harry never told you he was his cousin's punching bag,' said Ron.

'And that he slept in a cupboard for ten years,' said Hermione.

'It wasn't that bad,' said Harry, wincing as three pairs of eyes turned to him. 'Really. I mean, I've always been short, so it's not like I didn't fit …'

'Or maybe,' said Ron, 'you're short _because_ you had to live in a cupboard.'

There was a short pause.

'Harry, why are you making excuses for them?' Ginny whispered.

'I don't know! OK, maybe I do. I just – I don't want to make trouble. I mean, I went over there this afternoon, right? Dudley and I had a proper conversation for the first time ever. He's changed, and I know he'll forget the past if I do. You know what they say – communication is a two-way street.' He grinned feebly.

'Yes, but abuse isn't.'

'They never –'

This time it was Ron who exploded. 'Bloody hell, Harry, what will it take to knock it into your thick head? It's not about whether they hit you or not.'

'It's about whether they did right when they took you in,' continued Hermione firmly.

Harry wanted to say, 'Since when did you two start finishing each other's thoughts instead of contradicting them?' The happy mood he'd slipped into while singing Ginny's valentine had evaporated; instead, all the arguing was making him feel contrary.

'My aunt had just lost a sister,' he said lamely, thinking of Snape's memories. 'She wasn't feeling exactly … charitable …'

It was a feeble excuse, and he knew it. But why was he saying this? Aunt Petunia had never showed affection towards him, so why wasn't he condemning her actions, as he had bitterly for the past seventeen years? A lingering illusion of family ties? An inability to move on? He'd thought their parting before his seventeenth birthday had been closure enough, but his recent meeting with Dudley had opened a can of worms he hadn't realised existed.

'Oh, but don't you see, Harry?' Hermione had tears in her eyes. 'Your aunt may have lost a sister that night, but she could have gained a son, if only she'd tried. It's too late for her. _We're_ your family now – Ron and Ginny and I and the rest of the Weasleys –'

'– so why can't you just believe it?' Ginny finished.

'Because I don't know what it's like!' Harry exploded. 'Just imagine … well … growing up thinking that what you've got is normal, because that's all they ever wanted to be, and you've just got to stick it out until you're an adult and can leave and never return, and you hate it, but you can't help it, because it's what you're used to. And I _know_ you were jealous, Ron, I know that you thought you were overlooked, that you sometimes wished you had my m— what I have. Well, imagine how that looks to someone who would give anything just to _have_ a family like yours, even if it means five older brothers.' He stopped short, for Ron had just made an indistinct noise.

'Our first Christmas at Hogwarts,' he said, turning slightly red. 'You were so surprised to get presents, and I asked you if you'd expected turnips. I – I never thought you were being serious, but you were, 'cause you really weren't expecting anything at all.'

Harry nodded; he couldn't have spoken even if he'd wanted to. Ginny put her arms around him and caught him in a warm, silent hug; he breathed in the scent of her hair and felt calmer. They broke apart, and over Ginny's head, Harry saw Ron peering into the now-cold pot of dinner on the stove.

'Harry, were you _cooking_?'

'Let's just say I've had more practice at doing it the Muggle way,' said Harry. 'And it's not for you, so get your nose out of it.'

'It smells nice,' said Hermione, coming over too. Ginny looked put out.

'Harry, I thought this was _our_ dinner?'

Harry grinned. 'Too right.' He raised his eyebrows at Ron and Hermione, grinning. 'Goodbye.'

'Enjoy your evening,' said Ron, looking as if he were trying hard not to imagine what Harry and Ginny might get up to. Hurriedly, he tossed a pinch of Floo powder into the fire. 'The Burrow!' he shouted, stepping into the green flames and getting swept away in a whirl of magic and colour.

Hermione lingered before helping herself to powder too.

'I know the conversation ended rather suddenly, but don't forget what we said,' she whispered.

'I won't.' Harry glanced over his shoulder at Ginny and muttered so she could not hear, 'Ginny won't let me.'

* * *

 _[One of Every Letter Challenge by Lamia of the Dark: B]_

 _[Harry Potter Chapter Competition by DobbyRocksSocks: The Keeper of the Keys]_

 _[Take a Prompt, Leave a Prompt Challenge by alyssialui: finding out something about a friend/SO/family member]_


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